Topic: Sony Ericsson

Unlike Apple, which immediately released its new iOS 5 on the same day for all its current devices, including models that are now over two years old, Motorola Mobility and Sony Ericsson are offering their customers excuses as to why the latest release of Google's Android 4.0 won't be available to them for many more months, if ever.

Courts in both Canada and the U.S. have approved the proposed $4.5 billion purchase of more than 6,000 wireless patents from bankrupt Canadian telecommunications equipment maker Nortel by Apple and five other companies.

Canadian telecommunications equipment maker Nortel announced late Thursday that a consortium of companies, including Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research in Motion and Sony, placed the winning bid in a high-profile auction for a collection of more than 6,000 patents.

Apple's cash is expected to top $70 billion at the conclusion of its current fiscal quarter, a sum so massive it could buy out rivals Nokia, Research in Motion, HTC and Motorola Mobility, according to a new analysis.

During a keynote at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Sony confirmed its next-generation gaming device, formally named the PlayStation Vita, will cost $250 when it arrives in the U.S. later this year.

Apple issued on Tuesday ProKit 7.0 with fixes for a number of minor issues. Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play PlayStation phone is set to challenge the gaming appeal of the iPhone when it launches on May 26. Also, Apple won Display of the Year awards for the iPhone and iPad at this week's Society for Information Display conference in Los Angeles, Calif.

Sony will challenge Apple's iOS later this year with the just-announced next-generation PlayStation Portable, codenamed NGP, and a PlayStation Suite game store that will also be available on Google's Android mobile operating system.

Leaked photos of a prototype device suggest that Sony could be planning to take on Apple's iPhone with a new Google Android-powered "PlayStation Phone," combining the company's PlayStation Portable platform with a smartphone.

As usual, Apple's executives kept close to a carefully prepared script on the company's stellar financial results, being careful not to reveal too much about the company's future plans, including its data center cloud services and broader open support for FaceTime video calling.

A Microsoft filing with the US government reveals a newfound worry that the Windows developer's traditional stance of selling software alone won't work against an increasingly profitable Apple -- a concern that may magnify as iPhone 3G pushes Apple's cellular market share past one percent worldwide.

Apple's iPhone 3G is exciting more than just tech-savvy consumers wanting to play with the latest gadget. Worldwide, mobile service providers are fighting tooth and nail for the right to sell the new iPhone because of its ability to attract new customers and sell them on data service plans, which providers have previously found to be a difficult sell.